London Affairs
by ZephyrMin
Summary: Queen Victoria has gotten wind of the twins in London, and she has the perfect job for them. Evie is quite honoured. Jacob? Not so much. "With all due respect, ma'am," Jacob started. "Are you asking us to babysit?"
1. Preview

London, 1868. The city was thriving. Or well, mostly. Jacob Frye found himself sitting atop of the train. The sun was setting in the north, painting the skies many different hues of pink, purple, orange, and red. Around them, the city began winding down for the day. People hurried to their homes, restaurants, or the occasional play in a theater. Sitting for another while, until the sky was nothing more than a dark purple, edging towards a darker blue, dotted with the faint glow of stars, Jacob found himself suppressing a yawn. Perhaps it was time to get up, make his way back into the train, and get comfortable on his little makeshift bed of a bench. Waiting till they'd passed under a small bridge, he stood up, stretching with a soft groan. Now standing up, his eye caught a peculiar looking carriage.  
"Fancy little thing, that is," he muttered to no one in particular. Perhaps to himself. Pity it'd been a long day, or he might have found himself investigating it a little further. For now, he simply watched it as it drove out of his view, before climbing down, back into the train.


	2. Chapter 1

The morning came with a rough wake up call. Evie had let herself into his wagon, where she'd began loudly proclaiming it was time he'd get up. He clearly disagreed, but per usual, his sister took no notice of that. Sadly but surely, he was up on his feet mere minutes after. Some words of a royal guest reached his ears, but he couldn't bring himself to care quite yet this early in the morning. Following her to her own wagon, he noticed they had stopped at a station somewhere in Westminster. Made sense, if it truly was a royal guest, he didn't expect to be too far from the palace.

"Goodmorning mister Frye," a friendly voice greeted him. He simply gave them a curt nod and a grunt. Too early for greetings.

"I do apologise for him," Evie began, nodding towards Jacob. "Sometimes I believe he was dropped on the head as a child." She gave him a hard glare, to which he simply shrugged with a slight smirk. Getting on his sister's nerves was a little easier in the mornings. Only now he really took in the sight of their visitor. Indeed, a sharply dressed man, but nothing particularly hinted at his royal relations.

"It's quite alright, miss Frye, we can't all be chipper in the morning." The man simply laughed before retrieving a letter from his pocket. "To get to the point; the queen has requested your audience this afternoon. She has invited you for a cup of tea. Will you accept the invitation?" Evie clearly didn't need to be asked twice, nodding eagerly, as to which the man handed her the envelope. "Inside, you will find the invitations. Apologies for the brief visit, but I will take my leave now. I do not wish to walk back from the next station." He smiled, giving both twins a polite nod, one only answered by Evie, before stepping out of the train again. It departed the station again only half a minute later.

Jacob and Evie exchanged a look, Jacob's impolite behaviour seemingly forgotten for now as both seemed to ask the same question.

Why on earth would the queen invite them for tea?

* * *

"How very London." Jacob grinned as they stood before the gates of the palace. He looked beside him, meeting Evie's questioning look. "Having tea with the queen, isn't that the true London experience?" He grinned as Evie rolled her eyes. After closely inspecting the invitations, the guards let them through. Jacob made an offhandish comment about being able to get in without any invitation, but it went ignored.

A guard lead them to a room, Jacob not bothered to remember the name of it. Who deemed it necessary to name rooms, anyway? Inside sat the queen; to Evie, an imposant sight. To Jacob however, rather underwhelming. She was just an older lady, aside from the fancy room, her little above average clothing, nothing made her really stand out as a queen. Yet, even he couldn't deny, he felt a great deal of respect towards the lady. Her stern voice welcomed them, inviting them to join her for the tea, already set on the table.

"Now," it had taken a few minutes, but the queen was the one who breached the subject first, as the twins had hoped she would. "I suspect you wonder why I asked for you to come to my palace?" She waited till both confirmed her query. "The daughter of an old friend has come to London, but I'm afraid my palace is not fit to satisfy a young girl like herself. But then, I dread allowing her to roam the city unattended."

It wasn't hard to guess what the queen tried to hint at. Jacob's face clearly showed the disdain he felt towards the task they were being given.

"We will gladly keep an eye on her, Majesty." Evie smiled. Of course _Evie_ would, but Jacob didn't like how she suggested the both of them would take care of her. The queen, however, seemed more than pleased. The chatter was stiff and little words were exchanged, but at least Evie seemed to have fun. Jacob was glad to be outside the gates not an hour later. According to the queen, a girl would meet their train at the Westminster station that very next morning.

"What on earth were you thinking," Jacob sighed, stuffing his hands down his pockets as they slowly made their way back to the station. "It's bad enough we have to babysit someone, but you just went ahead and offered her a bed in our train?"

"If you want to go against the queen's requests, be my guest."  
"That was hardly a request, you were the one who brought it up! Besides, where are you going to let her sleep, we only have one bed, and I'm not giving up my couch."

"She could take my bed. I can sleep in my chair just fine. It's only for a little while, anyway." Jacob couldn't believe his sister. Going above and beyond simply to please someone didn't sound like something she'd usually do, but here he was to witness it himself. He quietly shook his head, the train station coming into their sights as they sped up their pace a bit.


	3. Chapter 2

Morning came early again, Evie waking him again before they reached the Westminster station. He expected no less than finding Evie preparing for her arrival, but why did he have to be awake for it? He got up anyway, knowing it was useless to even try to go back to sleep at all. He simply sat on the chair, watching Evie attempt to clean the mess on her desk, make her bed, and trying to make the place look somewhat tidy at all. When the train came to a halt at the station, the wagon was much cleaner than Jacob had seen it in months.

"Can you go fetch her from the platform?" Evie asked, but he knew from the demanding tone that 'no' wasn't an option. With no more than a grunt, he stepped out of the train, greeting the writhing mass of people roaming the station with nothing more than a glare. Luckily, the one he aimed to find stood out from the crowd, looking at the train with a trail of doubt, as if not sure if this was the one she was supposed to get on. Her dark purple dress perhaps a little fancier than the average citizen wandering the train station, her dirty blonde hair held together by a ribbon, the curls loosely hanging over her shoulders.

"Hello love, are you looking for someone?" He asked, not wanting to reveal his name to any old stranger, but also not quite sure of her name. Maybe Evie remembered, but it was a bit late to ask her now. The girl, only a few years younger than him, looked him up and down before answering.

"Are you mister Frye?" She asked, to which he beamed a proud smile.

"Call me Jacob, love." He shook her hand before grabbing her suitcase. "Now we best get on that train, don't want to miss it." Without looking back, he marched forward, back into the wagon, where Evie was just finishing up straightening the blanket on the bed. The soft set of footsteps behind him indicated that she had followed him. He put the suitcase down by the bed. "Evie Frye, I'd like you to meet our dear guest, miss…" He trailed off, still not knowing her name.

"Erin Blythe. It's a pleasure." The girl smiled, shaking hands with Evie as well. They seemed to hit it off well, Jacob was glad to see their small talk gave him a window to sneak out of the wagon unseen.

* * *

Jacob didn't return to the train until hours later, hopping on somewhere in Southwark. He'd taken down a factory early that afternoon, now ready to lie down for a nap, aiming to get up around supper, and hopefully take down a gang stronghold after sundown. His Rooks were in high spirits these days, Southwark nearly in their control. He couldn't help but walk around with a slight smirk. He was surprised to find Evie's wagon empty, no trace of neither his sister nor the new girl, what's-her-name. He shrugged, they probably went out together, Evie showing her around town, or perhaps doing some shopping. He couldn't be arsed to try and find out what those were up to.

However, after deciding to stop by the pub inspired wagon, he was met with a surprise. In a booth sat the girl, currently the only one there, with a tall glass of, what Jacob guessed to be, beer in front of her.

"Aren't you supposed to be with my sister?" He asked, sliding into the booth across from her. His voice seemed to startle her, pulling her from some deep thoughts. He pretended not to notice.

"She had something to do, told me not to leave the train." She sighed, seeming bored with that very order. Suddenly, Jacob felt some sort of connection to her, though faint and fleeting. At least he wasn't the only one being bossed about by his sister. "Am I not supposed to come here?" She wondered.

"This train will be your home for as long as you're in London; you may come and go to every wagon as you please." He got up, filling up a glass for himself before turning back around to the booth. "Mind if I join you?" The only answer was a nod, and he sat himself down again. Silence overtook the wagon for a bit, safe from the noise the train itself made. "Now, if you don't mind me asking," Jacob started, the question had been nagging at him for a little bit now, and he figured it couldn't hurt to just throw it on the table. "What is your relation with the Queen?"

"She was a dear friend of my mother's."

"Was?" He spoke without thinking, but the slight change in her demeanor didn't go unnoticed.

"My parents died a few days ago," she started. Jacob immediately regretting his question. "I am on my way to a host family in Plymouth, but until they're ready to receive me, I'll be here." She looked down, her eyes landing on her glass. Jacob watched quietly as she raised it to her lips. A coping mechanism, he was sure.

"Evie and I lost our parents, too. If you ever need to talk, our doors are open." He offered, answered by a thankful smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Silence fell again, weighing heavily on Jacob's shoulders. He'd come for a relaxing drink and a nap, and currently he was getting none of that. Minutes passed slowly, Erin being the one who broke the silence.

"I asked not to stay in the palace so I could explore London." She confessed, her gaze fixed on the window. "Yet so far all I've seen is the stations, and the view from this train." A soft sigh escaped her lips as a smirk found its way to Jacob's.

"I was planning on heading out after sundown. If you're not scared of the dark, you're welcome to join me." He smirked as she looked at him with disbelief.

"You're joking?" She guessed, but he kept silent, awaiting her answer. "Everyone warned me that the gangs come out at night; won't it be dangerous for us to go out?"

"Ah, you'd think so. I am the leader of the Rooks, they'll be sure to keep any Blighter off our backs."

"Rooks?" Her confused look disappointed Jacob a little.

"The Rooks, the gang currently taking control of London." He decided to drop it as it clearly didn't ring a bell. She'd find out soon enough who they were. "Anyway," he perked up. "We can stay in Whitechapel, or the City of London, if you wish to take safety measures."


	4. Chapter 3

The streets were empty aside from a few homeless, orphans, gang members, drunks, and simply people attending parties. In Jacob's opinion, this was London in her full glory. The streetlight adding a gloomy atmosphere to the streets, the cobblestones damp from a downpour earlier in the evening. The now clear sky, the cold moonlight shining down on the ill lit streets. Jacob took a deep breath, feeling the city around him breathe with him as he walked down the street. Erin held on to his arm, claiming not to be scared, so he pretended not to notice her jump with every unexpected sound. The chimes of the Big Ben told them it was now eleven o'clock. Every sensible person in bed by now, long asleep. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable, Jacob keeping a close eye on their surroundings as Erin watched the city in awe.

"Jacob! Good to see you still around." The silence was disturbed by a lone Rook, sat on the street corner. Not far from him stood a green carriage.

"Bert, nice to see you. How is everyone?" It'd been a while since he'd taken a walk through the City of London.

"As good as always. The Blighters finally seem to realise that this burough belongs to us now. There's less of them by the day." Bert seemed proud, bringing a smile to Jacob's lips.

"I expect nothing less," he nodded. His eyes drifted off to the carriage again. "If it's not too much trouble, would you mind giving us a tour through the burough? It's the lady's first time."

"Not a problem at all, Jacob," the Rook grinned as he got up from where he was sat. Before walking to the carriage, he turned to Erin. "And who might this fair lady be?"

"Erin Blythe, pleasure to meet you, sir." She introduced herself, releasing Jacob's arm to shake Bert's hand, who introduced himself with a small kiss on her hand. Jacob helped her into the carriage before joining her. While he'd usually be the driver, he considered it best to stay by Erin's side for now.

The carriage took off, Jacob leaning back as Erin looked out the window. When she'd ask, he'd tell her as much he knew about the monuments, the buildings, or whatever else she was wondering about. Evie probably knew more, but he tried his best, and she seemed satisfied with what information she got. The Big Ben struck half past eleven when Bert called out, effectively getting Jacob on full alert.

"Blighters, sir! Hold on tightly." Jacob reacted much faster than Erin could, wrapping an arm around her as the carriage shook violently. The blighters had rammed into them, doing quite some damage on the carriage.

"Take them down. Can you handle them?" His hands itched to get up on that roof, taking care of the situation himself, but Erin was finally admitting to her fears. Hands gripped at his jacket, a soft whimper audible every time the carriage shook. There never was an answer from Bert, but the carriage had clearly gone into a counter attack, ramming back into the Blighters. Fences shattered under the wheels of the carriages, streetlights damaged beyond repair, people screaming as they passed them. The cart came to an abrupt halt, almost throwing Jacob off the bench, Erin still in his tight grip.

"Jacob," Bert sounded distressed, and Jacob could guess what was to come. Bert couldn't handle it alone anymore. "It's a dead end, I'm going to need some help out here." Jacob cursed. Bert should know this place like the back of his hand, how could he have possibly taken a wrong turn? But, backing out wasn't an option, so Jacob pried Erin's fingers from his jacket.

"I'll be back in a second. Stay quiet." He whispered. Last thing he needed was the Blighters targeting her. He checked if his pistol was loaded before going out, slamming the door behind him. One Blighter was quickly taken down, another one behind him cackling.

"Well well, if it isn't Jacob Frye himself." He didn't laugh much longer after that, a tiny hole now between his eyes. Bert was throwing punches left and right, not being granted any time to whip out his own weapons. Quickly taking in the scene, he noticed they were seriously outnumbered. Five to two, that simply wasn't fair. A shrill whistle sounded as Jacob hoped Rooks were near, responding to his call and making this a fair fight. He thought he heard footsteps in the distance, but his concentration was thrown off when he took a painful hit to the jaw. He was quick enough to catch the second one, engaging his blade before shoving it in between two ribs. Clutching his side, the Blighter still didn't seem to give up, drawing his gun. Before he could even aim, Jacob's blade pierced his eye. He now noticed another Rook had joined the fight, which had granted Bert the time to draw his own gun. Gunshots rang through the night, it was hard to keep up who was even pulling the trigger. Slowly but surely, Jacob and his Rooks overpowered the small group of Blighters. Panting, Jacob turned to Bert and the other Rook.

"I believe we ought to head back to the station now." He said, nodding towards the cart. Bert silently agreed, offering the other Rook a ride as well. The two men in green took the reigns as Jacob returned to Erin. Pale as a ghost, she eyed him fearfully.

"I'm not going to hurt you, love-" He didn't want her to be afraid of him, not sure how much she'd seen through the windows, but it seemed he'd misread her fearful eyes.

"Are you hurt?" He fell silent for a second before smiling. The carriage was on the move again.

"I'm fine, just a few bruises." The hit he'd taken to the jaw was quite sore, but it'd be wrong to worry a lady with that.

* * *

The train station was quiet this time of night, but he knew their hideout would come by in no more than half an hour. Erin remained awfully quiet as they sat on a bench, waiting in silence. The downpour had begun again, the rain currently the only noise heard through the station as it hammered against the roof. Jacob liked the sound, and Erin didn't seem to mind much either as she looked at the roof. The panes once see-through had rain streaming down them. Time passed quietly as they sat. Jacob was thinking of the rest of his night. He'd gotten his nap that afternoon, leaving him wide awake at this time. Maybe he would take down a gang stronghold after all. When the train could finally be heard in the distance, he found Erin had dozed off, leaning against him as she slept.

"Wakey wakey," he nudged her till she stirred, sitting up as she rubbed her eyes. "Your bed has arrived." He nodded towards the train coming to a stop before them. She still held his arm firmly as they entered the train. He showed her to Evie's bed, still neatly made. She seemed more than relieved to finally lay her eyes upon a bed. He couldn't blame her, it'd been a taxing night for someone who wasn't quite used to their lifestyle. He was glad Evie hadn't returned yet, probably still out with Greenie, hiding somewhere from the rain.

"Goodnight. If you need anything, I'll be at the bar." He nodded towards the door. He didn't feel like going out anymore, not in this weather.

* * *

 **I want to thank everyone for the follows so far and a very lovely review I've gotten :) it's the first story I'm posting online in a long time, so hope I don't disappoint!**

 **I might not upload another chapter for a month since I'm going on a holiday, but I promise I will be back as soon as I can :)**


	5. Chapter 4

Shouting sounded through the train at an early hour the following morning. Jacob had been draped across the booth in their pub, having passed out somewhere after four in the morning. Evie found him there, clearly not pleased after hearing about a certain fight the night before. Even Erin was roughly pulled from her sleep as the twins seemed to have forgotten she was even there, taking their fight to Evie's wagon. Erin stood by the bedside, confused, in only her nightgown, as she watched the two engage in a heated argument.

"How could you be so irresponsible!?"

"Irresponsible? I'm not the one who left her alone for hours on end!"

"She was perfectly safe if she would have stayed in the train."

"She was safe with me, too." At this, Evie threw her hands in the air with a look of despair. Jacob only glared at her. He had it under control last night, but of course his sister didn't agree.

"You nearly got the both of you killed."

" _Nearly._ " He emphasized. Evie wasn't impressed. "If she'd stayed in this train any longer she'd be bored to death."

"Then what do you want me to do; take her with me on a mission?"

"Oh brilliant idea, Evie. How about I take her with me to take over a gang stronghold! We'll have so much fun!" The sarcasm was evident, his brows furrowed.

"That's not what I was saying," Evie let out a frustrated yell. "You're not taking her anywhere anymore. Never again."

"Is that so? You need to actually _be here_ to stop me."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Erin's voice was soft compared to theirs.

"No!" Both shouted in unison. Erin jumped back, startled by the aggressive response. A hand landed on her shoulder, and looking behind her, she found a man she hadn't met before. From his complexion, she guessed him to be indian.

"Best not to get involved." He smiled, but there was no humour behind it. He led her away from the wagon with the offer of a cup of tea and breakfast, apologising for the twins' behaviour, yet warning her to get used to it.

Henry Green, she learned, had been in London long before the twins. Owner of his own curio shop, something he seemed to take pride in, he invited her to come by sometime. Erin wasn't too excited about hunting curio, though she did enjoy the occasional auction her parents took her to. She promised Henry to stop by sometime, bringing a smile to light up his face. They'd just finished their breakfast when Evie joined them. She looked no happier than she had earlier.

* * *

"Jacob has left us," Evie announced as she joined Erin and Henry at the bar. Evie only leaned on it, not bothering to grab a stool. "He'll likely be gone for a few hours." Not very much of a loss, perhaps even more so a blessing. Knowing her brother wouldn't take their plans for today seriously, he wouldn't be missed. She noticed Erin looked a bit worried, but ignored it.

"Erin, would you like to come with us to the museum?" Henry was the one to offer it after exchanging a look with Evie. Evie nodded in agreement; even if it was just to get the girl as far away from Jacob's antics as possible.

"I'd love to," Erin smiled politely, a smile Evie returned. Perhaps this would give her the chance to get to know the girl a bit better, grow closer, may she be bold enough to hope so.

"We'll arrive at Charing Cross station soon. We can walk from there, or take a carriage." Evie eyed the girl as Henry spoke of a carriage.

"I think we can walk it." She suggested, keeping in mind the last time Erin got on a carriage, it hadn't quite gone smoothly. Erin seemed keen on walking as well.

Charing Cross station was rather busy, Evie taking the lead as they navigated through the crowd. With Erin in the middle, and Henry at the back, they finally managed to get to the exit. Erin softly complained about her dress, to which Evie scoffed. Of course a dress was a torture device to begin with, but the girl had picked herself one with long sleeves while the sun was scorching hot. A poor choice to begin with, but one she'd leave to Erin to deal with herself. That said, Evie did compliment the dress, a beautiful dark blue, with a matching blue ribbon tying her hair together.

The museum wasn't busy at all, much to their delight. It gave them all the time in the world to wander among the pieces, no people around them pushing or shoving to have a look. Evie had wandered a few pieces ahead, noticing Henry and Erin chatting softly just across the room. Somehow Evie was the only one not managing to connect with the girl. To her dismay, Erin and Jacob seemed to hit off just great, and even Henry managed to engage in conversation with her. But from the moment Evie had met her, there hadn't been more than a few words exchanged, never quite enough to break the ice between them. When Evie had talked to Henry about it, he told her they just needed to find common ground on something. Which turned out easier said than done.

"Evie, come listen to this." Henry called her over, pulling her from her thoughts as she'd been looking at some shapeless rocks carved into figurines. Somehow they still looked like shapeless rocks for the most part. When Evie joined the others within a few strides across the room, Henry encouraged Erin to repeat what she'd just said to him.

"I was just translating a bit of this text for Henry," Erin stated, seemingly shy with the sudden attention focused on it, but it peaked Evie's interest as well.

"What does it say?" Evie crossed her arms with a curious smile.

"Not much that makes sense without any more context. But it talks about a box of the precursors. Here it talks about a betrayal of some sorts, from what I can gather from the text, someone stole the precursor box. The box disappeared, as well as the traitor. They never found either. Or at least, not that they say in this text." Erin's eyes had thoroughly scanned the page on display, Evie and Henry listening intently. After she finished, Evie looked over at Henry, her eyes meeting his. Precursor box was a term they were both well familiar with.

"Where did you learn Latin?" Evie's curiosity got the best of her.

"My mother taught me. She thought it'd be good for my education, but I only remember a little bit of it." Erin huffed a shy laugh.

"Were you homeschooled?" Evie wondered, noticing Henry wandering off with a small smirk. She noticed immediately what he'd done; she and Erin finally found common ground on something.

"I am. My mother was bedridden after an accident. She taught me almost everything I know." Erin revealed. "It's mostly tidbits of useless information, though."

Erin and Evie had been talking nearly the entire museum visit, both surprising each other with facts about pieces at random. Henry trailed behind them, sometimes weighing in on the conversation, but mostly staying on the sidelines. Erin managed to surprise them one more time when they came across a drawing.

"The shroud of Turin."

"What do you know about it?"

"Well, it's a fake." Erin stated, and both Evie and Henry nodded. It's what they'd been taught as well. "It's a well made replica of the shroud Jesus was wrapped in."

"Where do you think the original is?" Evie boldly asked, earning a raised brow from Henry. She knew it was silly to have any hopes for a valuable answer, but perhaps the tidbits of information she knew contained something of use for them. Erin simply shrugged, not picking up the look Evie and Henry shared.

"Who knows. My mother was doing research on it, but she never got to finish it. Even then, I doubt the true location of the Shroud was to be found in a book in our personal library."

Again, Evie and Henry shared a look.

* * *

After leaving the museum, Evie and Henry decided to go to Henry's shop. They agreed to let Erin walk herself back to the train station. Though, where they parted ways, Evie motioned a Rook over, ordering him to follow her back from a safe distance.

"Do you think she knows what we are?" Evie looked at Henry, who looked a bit surprised.

"Do you have reason to believe she does?" To this, Evie simply shook her head. Still, the feeling lingered.

Erin came back to the station right in time as the train just rolled in. She was surprised to find Jacob stretched out on the bench, his hat covering his eyes as he took a nap. Erin debated on waking him up, but decided against it. Instead, she sat down in the chair, a book open in her lap. The wagon was filled with silence, aside from the sound of the engine, and the occasional snore coming from Jacob.

* * *

 **Back from my vacation, and back into writing! Thank you guys for sticking around :)**


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